The Year of the Crown

As the коронавирусная пандемия (the coronavirus pandemic) still affects just about every aspect of our lives, it has, of course, been changing the way we speak. Russian is filled with new words and phrases that even six months ago would have been incomprehensible.

The basics of the Russian Covid lexicon come from English. It’s called коронавирус (coronavirus) or ковид, less frequently ковид-19. Doctors say: Он заболел / заразился ковидом or коронавирусом (He came down with Covid or coronavirus). Once a person is sick, he is инфицированный вирусом (infected with the virus) or simply заболевший (ill).  

The adjective ковидный is a bit less formal, but is used for, say, ковидный центр (Covid treatment center) or ковидный кашель (Covid cough). Ковидный can also mean a patient with the disease: В нашей больнице 25 ковидных. (We have 25 Covid patients in our hospital.)

Within just a few months, Russians came up with slangier terms for the pandemic. Some folks call it корона (crown), as in: Откуда он подцепил корону? Он сам не знает. Считает, что подхватил её на работе. (Where did he catch the virus? He doesn’t know. He thinks he might have picked it up at work.)

Another slangy phrase about contracting the disease is the assertion that Russians can’t get it: Корона русских не берёт! (The virus can’t touch Russians!) This is very obviously not true – but linguistically interesting.

In any case, however and wherever you get it, thanks to the joy of prefixes, you aspire to quickly change your status from заболевший (someone who is ill) to переболевший (someone who was ill and has now recovered). Unfortunately: Не все переболевшие ковидом защищены от повторной инфекции. (Not everyone who has had Covid is protected from a repeat infection.)

The main way to avoid contracting the disease is карантин (quarantine) or самоизоляция (self-isolation). In common parlance this is: ещё сидим дома (we’re still staying at home) or торчим дома (we’re stuck at home). For most people this is just uncomfortable, but for some, even at home it’s not safe: Свыше полумиллиона петербуржцев живут в коммунальных квартирах — как им самоизолироваться? (More than half a million residents of Petersburg live in communal apartments — how can they self-isolate?)

Luckily at home there is онлайн жизнь (online life) and the new national pastime: зумиться (to Zoom). Мы с подружками позумились до поздней ночи. (My friends and I were talking on Zoom until late at night.)

When you do go out, you’re supposed to observe social distancing. Russian has adopted the English term — социальное дистанцирование — although literally just a few short months ago people thought it meant something like “how various social classes don’t cross paths.” Now people are used to the phrase, if not the process: Как практиковать социальное дистанцирование в повседневной жизни? (How do you practice social distancing in everyday life?)

The natural way to say it is соблюдать дистанцию (to keep your distance), which is what you use when yelling at the guy leaning into you in the checkout line: “Молодой человек! Соблюдайте дистанцию!” (“Young man! Keep your distance!”)

In many cities we are still required or advised носить медицинскую маску и перчатки (to wear a medical mask and gloves). This is also called масочно-перчаточный режим (mask and glove regimen) in public places and transportation, made easier by the fact that you can purchase masks in metro stations from маскомат (mask-o-mat).

In the meantime: сидим дома, заказываем бесконтактную доставку и мечтаем о поствирусной, постпандемической жизни (we’re staying at home, ordering no-contact deliveries, and dreaming of our post-virus, post-pandemic life).